A gathering to celebrate the life of Shannon Larratt

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Over the years the Philadelphia Weirdos met so many amazing friends through our connection with IAM/BME/Shannon. We’d get in the car and drive 10 hours on a whim, just to attend an event that we were invited to. We’d fly to Mexico, Canada, drive all over the US to hang out with like-minded folks. On April 27th, we hosted a gathering in honor of a friend who left us too soon. It’s wasn’t a wake or a memorial, but a celebration of not only Shannon, but the friendships we made through him.

The weekend had something for everyone, reminiscent of BME BBQs of the past. There was a picnic at the park, private suspensions, a party/fundraiser at a bar and the eventual hotel shenanigans that IAM events made famous.

We raised over $3600 in donations (thanks so much to our amazing sponsors, and to all of the folks who gave so freely) that were given directly to Ari Larratt via her Mother.

Thanks for your patience while we work out the glitches in shipping tshirts.
I’ve still yet to hear from a single “pickup” so… Im just going to go ahead and ship out all of the paid shipping ones next week.
We also have a LOT of photos queued up, which Brian (Perk) is working on, so… Don’t forget to check back!

I’ve finally found time to catch my breath after an amazing/emotional/exhausting/rad weekend; Stay Calm is behind us now and we’re left with a renewed sense of community for having done it. Seeing faces we hadn’t seen in years, meeting new old friends for the first time, telling stories, and having fun. I couldn’t really think of a better way to pay our respects to Shannon for the community he brought into being.

There will be more coming soon; pictures fron the park and the bar, fundraiser totals (Stay Calm believes in 100% financial transparency) and even event listings for upcoming IAM related functions, but for now, let me say a few thanks to the people who made this event go off without a hitch:

Thank you Carmela: Your ability to navigate the worlds of group rates, permits and planning are unparalleled.
Thank you Robin: When we were all too sad to think, you had the foresight to suggest doing a Weirdos hosted Memorial.
Thank you Brian: My consigliere for the last 13 years. Whenever I was stressed, your “I’m on it” was all I needed to hear.
Thank you Sahra: You were invaluable on a variety of levels.
Thank you Chez: Good LORD you can sell a fucking Jell-o shot.
Thank you Luis, Joe, V, Big Poppa Josh and Christine C for helping with everything else.

Thank you to all of the folks who came, had fun and donated generously to the cause; Ari and Rachel came up for the event and it was so great that she was able to see the influence her Dad’s life had on his friends and extended IAM/BME family.

Most of all- Thank you Shannon Larratt.
For 18 years you were my friend, my enemy, my mentor, my student, my devil’s advocate and more. I’m sorry that I’ll never get to break your balls over something you posted on Modblog, or bend your ear about some weird Sci Fi movie. I wish more than anything that we had one more day to just sit back, like we did under that tree in Tweed or on the beach in Mexico, and shoot the breeze about nothing important, just enjoying it for what it is.

We’re not going to remove this site post event; it’ll stay up as a reminder of a really great weekend with some of the finest people I’ve ever met and as a memorial to our friend.

We’re pleased to have so many out of town visitors for the Stay Calm Memorial; Philadelphia is an amazing tourist destination and we’d love for you folks to make the most of your time here. Carmela has put together a custom tour book for ya’all that features some of our favorite Philly attractions, eateries, bars and amenities as well as complete event information!

Hey folks!
So. We’re a week away from the STAY CALM memorial and the SC team is finally getting all of our ducks neatly in a row.

We’ve got 95% of the raffle items in hand (with the other 5% hopefully en route) and the shirt and print order off to the printers. We’ve got volunteers set up to help out at the bar, we’ve got a spot picked out at the park and we’ve even got a brunch scheduled for those of us who can get up early enough on Sunday to have a more reserved afternoon.

What we don’t have is you.

I know a lot of you folks would really love to make it here but for various reasons can’t. Can’t get time off work. Can’t get a sitter, a plane/bus/train/zeppelin ticket to Philadelphia, a hotel room, what have you.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t BE here, right?

One of the things that I’ll always remember Shannon for was him bringing the techie community and the body modification community together. It’s 2013. Most of us have computers with webcams, phones that can record in 1080p or handhelds that shoot damn near theatrical quality video.

What I’d like for you folks who can’t make it to do, if you still want to be here in spirit… is to record a short video talking about your connection to Shannon and the IAM/BME Community. How it’s affected your life. Met a spouse? Had a baby? Traveled to Mexico for BMEFest and used a swimming pool as a gravity bong?

Tell your story!

Then either upload it to YOUTUBE (tagged staycalmbme) or get a dropbox.com account and link me. We’re going edit them together and put them online; shared here on SCPhilly as well as BME. There are some great stories out there; sweet, funny, raunchy… let’s not let them be forgotten.

Oh. Did you guys like the STAY CALM Hand Screened print that Johnny Thief designed for us? Well get this! If you submit a video to the THANK YOU SHANNON! Project- your name goes into a drawing to have one sent to you on us! They’re available exclusively to attendees of the memorial, so you’ll be the coolest kid on your block!

Once you’ve got it online, email staycalmbme@gmail.com with the youtube or dropbox link and you’ll be set.

OH! This is really important. All submitted videos must be shot “properly”. Please watch the below video for best practice filming tips.

Videos should be under five minutes, 720dpi or higher if possible, m4v or mov format.

Wow.
So it’s finally ready. Presale for the ‘official’ (for want of a better word) Stay Calm print goes up in the next day or two, but before the product listing goes live I thought I’d give you folks a sneak peak. We’re really please with how this came out.

The print will be hand screened in three colors on quality paper by Philadelphia’s Awesome Dudes Printing and will be available exclusively for event attendees. Size and price to be determined.

As with all Stay Calm offerings, 100% of net profits will be donated directly to Ari Larratt.

About Johnny: Johnny “Thief” Di Donna is one of the most skilled and true artists inking people in America right now, and has achieved huge success in a broad range of very mainstream fields without compromising himself to that mainstream. Whether it’s designing artwork for Guitar Hero 3 or tattooing customers at his shop SEPPUKU TATTOO, his raw talent shines through- Shannon Larratt, February 2008